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By Iman Shariat Jafari with support from Staff sponsors: Mr. T Rudan and Mr.Lee

Manal, One, in Za’atari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Syrian refugees have been pouring into Jordan in their thousands to escape the violence in Syria. They now live in tents in the desert of northern Jordan where conditions are harsh and the camp authorities are underfunded and struggling to meet the basic needs of the overwhelming numbers of refugees arriving each day. Over sixty five per cent of camp inhabitants are children.

In the Syrian conflict’s fifth year, millions of refugees are caught in alarmingly deteriorating conditions, facing an even bleaker future.

With no solution to the conflict in sight, most of the 4 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt see no prospect of returning home in the near future, and have little opportunity to restart their lives in exile.

Inside Syria, the situation is also deteriorating rapidly. Millions of children are suffering from trauma and ill health. A quarter of Syria’s schools have been damaged, destroyed or taken over for shelter. More than half of Syria’s hospitals are destroyed.

“We have only a narrow opportunity to intervene now as this potentially lost generation confronts its future”, warns UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres. “Abandoning refugees to hopelessness only exposes them to even greater suffering, exploitation and dangerous abuse”.

What is UNHCR doing to help

UNHCR provides basic and necessary humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees and helps the most vulnerable refugees with urgently needed relief – cash for medicine and food, stoves and fuel for heating, insulation for tents, thermal blankets and winter clothing.

By helping refugees in the surrounding region, UNHCR hopes to reduce the number of desperate Syrians resorting to smugglers and falling prey to traffickers to reach safety elsewhere.

Thanks to the generous support of their donors since January alone, 1.8 million refugees received food aid, 500,000 children were enrolled in school, and shelter in camps was provided for more than 460,000 refugees.

You can also help make a difference.

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